Lectures on the Sūtra of the Collection of the Father and Son (Pitāputrasamāgamanasūtra) (160)

Original text:大王。如人梦中。舌根断坏。于意云何。是人觉已。忆念梦中。是为实不。王曰不也。佛言大王。是人所梦。执以为实。是智者不。王曰。不也世尊。何以故。梦中毕竟。无有舌根。况复断坏。当知是人。徒自疲劳。都无有实。

Explanation: Great King, it is like a person who in a dream sees his tongue faculty broken and destroyed. What do you think? After this person wakes up, he keeps recollecting what happened in his dream—are the events in the dream truly existent? King Śuddhodana said: They are not truly existent, World-Honored One. The Buddha said: Great King, if this person clings to his dream as being truly existent, is he a wise person? King Śuddhodana replied: He is not wise, World-Honored One. Why is this said? Because in the dream there is ultimately no tongue faculty at all, let alone any event of the tongue faculty being broken and destroyed. One should know that this person merely labors his mind in vain and gains nothing at all that is real.